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LOT 1641
Anglo-Scandinavian Viking Bronze Stirrup Mount with Pseudo-Runes
11TH CENTURY A.D.
2 in. (19.88 grams, 50 mm).
Williams's Class A Type 1 with trapezoidal plaque and narrow ledge to the rear; incised geometric design following the outline of the mount with symmetrical panels; to the neck five vertical lines, perhaps pseudo-runes. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceProperty of a gentleman; acquired in the 1970s.
LiteratureCf. Williams, D., Late Saxon Stirrup-Strap Mounts, York, 1997, item 51, for type.
FootnotesThe markings on the neck appear to conform to the shapes of four runes, being inverted chevrons to the edges (runic 'U'), a character of two verticals and a sloping cross-bar (runic 'H'), and a simple vertical stroke (runic 'I'). However, the outer chevrons are formed as the junction of the inner border with a vertical while the cross-bar appears to be a later abrasion. The form of 'H' with a single cross-bar is very early (2nd -5th century AD) and is almost unknown in England, while by the 8th century this form had been replaced in Scandinavia by a rune formed as a vertical with a small saltire to the centre (like an asterisk). It is nevertheless possible that these marks were intended as a form of pseudo-runic text.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 1641
Anglo-Scandinavian Viking Bronze Stirrup Mount with Pseudo-Runes
Sold for (Inc. bp): £72
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Viking Age Latten Inlaid Iron Key
9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £364
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Viking Silver Elfshot Pendant with Stone Arrowhead
9th-11th century A.D. and earlierSold for (Inc. bp): £572
An amulet with a silver cap securing an arrow-shaped flint insert. 2.43 grams, 34 mm
From the private collection of a London gentleman, from his grandfather's collection formed before the early 1970s.
This amulet was believed to offer protection against 'Elfshot'. The attack of elves was believed responsible for mysterious suffering in men and livestock: sudden shooting pains localised to a particular area of the body, such as in rheumatism, arthritis, or muscle stitches or cramps. Elves were thought to shoot darts or arrows where such pains had no obvious external cause. Belief in elfshot persisted into the 20th century in rural areas, and as proof, country folk would sometimes find small arrowheads (the remains of Neolithic or Mesolithic flints, or naturally-occurring spear-shaped stones) that were believed to be the magical weapons that caused the afflictions. Belief in elfshot began in the Pagan Germanic period.
